Jonathan Harrison Kellar
Jonathan Harrison Kellar, better known by his ring names of "Ultimatum", "Human Dynamite" and "Lord Jon H Kellar" is an e-wrestler currently signed to GroundZero Global, wrestling for their GroundZero Wrestling 2k1 brand. He has held a total of five World Titles during his career, along with several tag team and hardcore honours. He also won GZW2k1's Lord of the Coliseum Tournament in 2006, earning him the title "Lord" Jon H Kellar. Jon Kellar is particuarly known for his "sports first, entertainment second" approach to the business, adopting a stiff style incorporating martial arts and legitimate submission moves. He regards wrestling to be a sport, influenced by his early life in Japan, and dislikes the "circus" which the business seems to be becoming. 'Early Life' Education Jonathan Harrison Kellar was born in Greenwich, East London. He was born into a typical British middle-class family, the son of a doctor and a nurse. At the age of 3, the Kellar family relocated to Japan, where Kellar spent the first 7 years of his education in an International School in Tokyo. Although initially struggling due to dyslexia, he soon adapted and developed a keen interest in Religious Studies and History. He also excelled for the school swimming team, and gained his first experience of martial arts. In his autobiography, Kellar states that he regards his training to have started in Japan when he attended the world famous Kodokan School of Judo as a child. Here, Kellar learnt the basics of the "gentle way", becoming a first kyu (purple belt), but unable to progress further due to his age. It was also during this time that Kellar was first exposed to professional wrestling, as he and friends from school would frequently sneak into small-time puroresu events held in Tokyo. One night, as a reward for an excellent school report, Kellar's mother agreed to take him to a larget event at the Tokyo Dome. Kellar credits this night with starting him down the path to his professional wrestling career. When Kellar was 11, his family returned to England, settling in Croydon, South East London. Kellar attended private school. Unable to find a good Judo school in Croydon, Kellar instead began studying Brazillian JiuJitsu under the tutelage of Sensei Carlos Macheda. He remained a strong pupil at school, though he struggled to fit in with the other students due to, among other things, his love of comics and manga which he had developed during his time in Japan. This came to a head when, having been pushed too far by one bully, a 14 year old Kellar punched and locked his tormentor in an anaconda vise compression choke. Although the parents of the bully pushed for his expulsion, Kellar was instead suspended for two weeks. His parents threatened to withdraw him from his martial arts training following the incident, but Macheda persuaded them that continuing his studies would help him control his anger. Following this incident, Kellar kept his nose clean. Channelling his anger and frustration into representing the school at Rugby, Water Polo. He also appeared in a number of school productions and participated in the debating society. Under Macheda's pupilage, Kellar was able to channel his anger and bitterness into Brazillian JiuJitsu and became a 4th degree blue belt shortly after his 18th birthday; his previous experience in Judo having allowed him to progress rapidly. He was eventually accepted into Oxford University to read Law and Japanese, though he delayed his admission and took a gap year, returning to Tokyo. He assisted with rugby coaching at a school and also offered English tuition to Japanese families, as well as returning to the Kodokan Institute where his old Sensei Kitazawa Kaito helped him pick up where he had left off. Continuing to train under Sensei Kitazawa, Kellar acheived the rank of ni-dan before returning to England. Kellar's degree lasted four years, three of which were spent at St Peter's College, Oxford, and the other (his third year) spent in Tokyo teaching students English. He graduated with a 2.1 degree, attending his final exam with a broken ankle sustained in a wrestling match (see below). Judo and BJJ at University Unlike many of the lawyers on his course, Kellar always saw a legal career as a "Plan B". His exposure to Puroresu during his time in Japan had given him an addiction to the sport, but he was disillusioned with American productions which focused on cartoonish characters and outrageous storylines. Further, his father was dead set against his eldest son pursuing a wrestling career, believing it to be a phase that would pass. Kellar therefore continued to pursue his martial arts studies, while secretly beginning basic training at a local wrestling school under former IHW World Champion Walton Simons (who would later make several appearances on GZW TV as Kellar's psychopathic mentor). Martial Arts While at Oxford University, Kellar continued his JiuJitsu training under Macheda, arranging his tutorials and classes so that he could make the 2 hour journey to Croydon every Wednesday night, and the 2 hour journey back. The Oxford Express coach company nicknamed him the "midnight machine" and joked about naming one of their coaches after him. Although a friend offered to introduce him to the University's BJJ Academy, Kellar was insistent that he would continue to train under Macheda. Kellar quickly acheived his purple belt in his first term at Oxford, and was a 2nd degree brown belt by the end of his second year. He also continued to practice Judo, appearing for the University Team at the varsity match against Cambridge Unversity. With the match tied at 4-4 (Kellar having narrowly lost his match to an opponent who was 20kg heavier), the judges drew three random matches to be re-fought as a tie-breaker. In the deciding match, Kellar faced his opponent a second time and scored the win, using an anaconda vise compression choke to score the submission. Kellar was awarded a discretionary Full Blue instead of the traditional half blue for his performance. Spending a year abroad in the 3rd year of his degree allowed him to return to the Kodokan Institute and reach the rank of yon-dan in Judo, thanks to an excellent performance in both the October and June Red and White Tournaments. On his return to England for his fourth and final year, Kellar continued to represent the university at Judo, winning his match in a second Varsity Match (although Oxford would go on to lose overall). Returning to Macheda, he finally reached his goal of being a black belt in 'Wrestling and the Bluebird' Jon Kellar undertook basic training under the pupilage of Walton Simons during his time in Oxford. Simons was impressed with Kellar's abilitiy to blend his Judo and BJJ holds into his routines and quickly recommending to small promotions, usually in battle royals that needed filler. Paranoid that he would be discovered and word would get back to his father, Kellar wrestled under a mask and had tattoos hand-painted onto his body by a local art student. Kellar's first big break in the wrestling business came when the wrestler known as "Bluebird" fell over in the changing room and dislocated his knee 10 minutes before the match. As the Bluebird was a masked character, Simons recommended to the promoter that Kellar appear as Bluebird that night to avoid the match being cancelled. Strapped for any alternative, the promoter put Kellar in the mask and tights of the Bluebird, and had a local art student paint Bluebird's distinctive tatoos onto Kellar's chest and back. Kellar wrestled his first full match, winning by pinfall after the "Bluebird Splash." After the show ended, he walked back through the curtain, and was offered the chance to appear as Bluebird at the next event in Manchester. Kellar had earned his break. Over the first two years of his University career, Kellar wrestled as Bluebird, rotating with the original performer, at 18 special events, recording 10 wins and 8 losses. He then spoke to the original performer and asked permission to wrestle as the Bluebird during his time in Japan, agreeing to split earnings with him. Kellar debuted Bluebird in Japan at "Puroresu Fantasy VI"; an event in a small Tokyo Dojo in front of 300 fans. Finally Kellar got a taste of the wrestling he had been seeking; stiff strikes and legitimate submission holds, and the feeling of legitimate sporting competition that he felt western pro-wrestling lacked. Although he continued to use the Bluebird splash as a signature move, his wrestling style was far more technical and focused on submission holds and wearing down body parts. Kellar wrestled 10 further matches during his time in Japan, losing all but his final match. Kellar continued to wrestle under the Bluebird mask during his final year of university. 'Authority Wrestling Federation' Personal Life Kellar married his long-time girlfriend Sarah Wilson (known as Dyna Might) on 3 July 2005 while GroundZero Wrestling 2k1 were on the summer Heat Tour that year. Immediate family and a small number of friends (including long term friends Kev Mania and Sean O'Grady) attended the intimite ceremony in Japan. A larger celebration took place later in the year. The couple now divide their non-working time between homes in Atlanta, Tokyo and London. Kellar maintains a strong relationship with his parents and with a close circle of friends from his life in Croydon and Japan. His friends can frequently be seen in the front row of many wrestling events, especially when GZW2k1 visits the United Kingdom. In his autobiography, Kellar cites his parents, Wilson, and his sensei Carlos Macheda as his greatest influences. Kellar dedicated an entire chapter in his autobiography to Macheda, saying that every title and accolade he has won in professional wrestling is a tribute to his old sensei. Macheda was in the front row of the Coliseum at Anniversary Armageddon in 2012 When Macheda passed away in 2006, Kellar attended his funeral as a pallbearer, and delivered part of his eulogy, during which he described Macheda as "a selfless, giving man and a beloved sensei who shared a little of his life with me so that I could make a lot out of mine."